RICH MAN, POOR MAN
By
-Daniel-
©
Though we be apart,
we are but a heartbeat away.
I have come to share a Truth
upon this blessed day.
There once lived twin brothers, orphaned upon the
day of their birth and separated from each other
by the needs of different families.
Two newborn babes, each finding their way into
the lives of two childless couples...
...each son receiving immeasurable love,
while walking upon very different paths
through Life.
Self became the only beloved son to the
wealthiest of families;
privilege and position belonged to him
as he was afforded every opportunity in Life.
Culture of the Arts, scholarship of knowledge
and the comfort of luxury belonged to the world
of Self and he was a good and loving son.
Selfless became the only beloved son of a poor family;
his father being a shepherd, with his mother spinning
the wool into yarn to sell in the marketplace.
And Selfless learned the lonely ways of the shepherd,
spending many a day and night in the alpine meadows
with only his flock for company.
The beauty of solitude, wisdom of contemplation and
the refuge of peace belonged to the world of Selfless
and he was a good and loving son.
The years rolled by and it came to pass that Self
saddled the horse given to him by his father and
went out riding in the flowered alpine meadows.
And as he rode he came across the shepherd,
tending his flock, and as he came close, their eyes
met and each recognized himself in the other.
Theirs was a reunion of great joy and each, in turn,
recounted the journey of Life to his brother.
Self spoke of his travels to foreign lands and of
the awe-inspiring monuments that existed there.
Selfless told him of his wanderings up and down
the mountain side and of the secret place he had
found, where the waters poured forth from the
rocky crags.
Self spoke reverently of his teachers and of the
time spent in the pursuit of knowledge.
Selfless recalled the lesson of humility taught
by a blinding winter blizzard and of the quest for
wisdom, while all alone.
Self spoke of the great works of art that decorated
his father's house and how inspiring it was to see
man capture God's beauty with paint and brush.
And Selfless smiled and said that he had walked
upon God's Canvas and watched as the Artist painted
the flowers into existence.
Then Self asked his brother to come with him to
his father's house, where his bed would be soft
and blanket warm.
And Selfless bade his brother to accompany him
to his father's house, that he might be given
his own flock to tend.
And each looked into the eyes of his mirror image
and knew that he could not walk the other's path.
So the brothers embraced, bidding a fond farewell
and turned to go their separate ways,
each thinking the same thought:
"My poor brother lives within his own illusion
and though he has nothing, he believes he has
everything."